Normally, when graduating pilots are given their assignment from the academy, they are given that talk alone. After all, one mecha needs one pilot, right? And yet, I'm now standing in front of the door of that meeting room that you look forward to and dread stepping into at the same time alongside Yuuta, my fellow graduate and good friend. When we are called in, we are called in together to see the representative from the Army: Colonel Kawada, a stern, no-nonsense type that has been doing this for quite some time, organizing and distributing the graduates to their new roles within the armed forces. After we take our seats, he looks us over for a few agonizingly slow moments. "You know, I've heard a lot from the eggheads in my years. Projects they want me to get them fresh pilots for, most of them hogwash. But this one, this one's special. I've seen mecha designs come and go, but nothing that made it more than more high-tech artillery. But this one... imagine. A mecha with the speed and maneuverability of a tank, but far superior firepower. Able to strike with great precision, with none of that clunky limb movement we have now. And you two are gonna be the key," he explains.

For now, we just listen, with Yuuta fidgeting in his seat a bit—he was never one for big responsibility, and this sure sounds like that right about now. Kawada continues, "The one drawback is the design needs two pilots, and not just any two, but two that are... compatible. On a deep level. And out of the whole graduate class, there's nobody that seems more compatible than you two. I can tell."

Far be it from me to blow up on Colonel Kawada, a name that commands respect across the entire academy. But damn it, something about his phrasing is setting me off, and I'm already on my feet before I know it. "What are you saying, huh? You got something you wanna say? I resent your fucking implication, old man, and I'm not about to let you talk about Yuuta that way, so..." I trail off, feeling a tug at my shirt. When I turn to face its direction, I am met with Yuuta looking up at me, the expression in his eyes telling me everything I need to know. I overdid it again. With a sigh, I slump back into the chair. "Sorry..." I mutter, embarrassed at my outburst.

But to my surprise, Kawada doesn't even seem slightly miffed. Instead, he strokes his beard for a bit, letting the tension dissipate, then merely says, "See? He didn't even have to talk." Another pause. "Anyway, as I was about to say, you two are going to Vortex V. Eggheads got a big compound over there where they're finishing up the prototype model for this new mecha class, and while they're doing that, they're also going to be prepping you in compatibility," he declares, because that's what Kawada does. We are essentially soldiers, after all, so what the officer says, goes. So it doesn't even take a few hours before we're on a ship over to Vortex V, and with the speeds they have these ships—especially small transport crafts—doing these days, we're touching down near the research facility after only a couple hours more.

Upon arriving there, we are seen to by several assistants in lab coats, scurrying about and saying all sorts of things that are going over my head entirely. At least Yuuta seems to be taking things in, so I hope he'll be able to explain later. So far, there don't seem to be any responsibilities for us in regards for training or diagnosis of our abilities, and instead, we're soon brought to what will be our residence. It's a sight to behold. Just off the main complex grounds, there's a small path leading into a small wooded plot of land, and when we follow it, we arrive at... a house! An actual house meant for a small amount of people to live in, with a fenced-off garden and everything. Wow, I thought those were reserved for the richest out there, with everybody else living in massive buildings made for efficiency in stacking the population in as little room as possible.

With it already being quite late at night now, Yuuta and I are just left alone to get situated. Apparently it's going to be about a week until the first tests can even start, so all we're supposed to do is read the brochures left on the bed and follow the instructions there, which is odd, but OK, sure, I can follow orders. The first thing we notice checking the place out, especially with the bedroom, is that it's kind of set up for a couple. There's only one big bed rather than two split ones, so evidently they want us to share. Yuuta decides to lay down on the bed and read the brochure while I wash up in the bathroom next door. This has been a pretty crazy day, and a shower hits the spot right about now. We're on an entirely new planet now, so far away from our old homes, the academy, all of it. Even if the transport ships can bridge that distance quite quickly, it's still such a staggering distance...

Returning to the bedroom, half-dry with nothing but a towel around my waist, I can't help but get the impression that there's something odd in that brochure, just from Yuuta's furrowed brows as he pores over it. While I could ask him, I decide to grab my own copy and give it a bit of a skim. There's a lot here about this "syncing" process that we're apparently going to go through for piloting this new mecha, but the key part seems to be in this "Building Synchronicity" section. Again, there's a lot of egghead words in here, but I can understand that the important part here is that we have sex. Which... what? "Dude, what the fuck is this? Who do they think we are?" I ask, an angry confusion coming over me. "Do they think we're fucking..." I then trail off.

Just like earlier today, I look at Yuuta, and he has that look on his face.